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Geopolitics

The Rush For Africa Is Getting Crowded — Who Will Be Shut Out?

African countries have shown through the Ukrainian war that their support should not be taken for granted. Chinese, Americans, Europeans and others are competing for influence on a continent that has become a global prize.

photo of Central business district Nairobi, Kenya

Central business district Nairobi, Kenya

Donwilson Odhiambo/ZUMA
Pierre Haski

-Analysis-

PARIS — There was a time when the great powers of the world would compete against each other to conquer vast territories of the African continent. Today, they are instead vying to seduce, convince, and sometimes buy the support of countries that have never been so eagerly courted.

The 55 African States carry real value (no matter the criterion — be it economic, political, security, demographic) that leaves no one indifferent. Within two decades, China has become the lead partner of the continent, supplanting the former colonial powers; Russia is regaining its areas of influence from the old Soviet days, spearheaded by the Wagner paramilitary group; the Americans are back too; Turkey, India, Japan, and Brazil also have a dog in the fight.


The war in Ukraine has elevated the stakes, with the notable reluctance of numerous African countries to condemn the Russian invasion. This has made clear that Africans will no longer accept to be taken for granted by the West — and resent the massive support for Ukraine where their misfortunes have too often been ignored.

"We" are Africa

This week, China's newly installed Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, made his first foreign trip, and he chose Africa. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, headquarters of the African Union, he had a message that flattered the continent's leaders:

"Our world is changing like never before, and the collective rise of developing countries is irreversible," he said. “The advent of an Asian century and an African century is no longer a distant dream. [...] We should boost the representation and voice of developing countries, especially those of African countries, in the UN Security Council and other international organizations.”

The speech was particularly clever in the way it positioned China — the second largest economy in the world, sometimes criticized for the predatory nature of its companies — as a developing country like those on the African continent. Using the “we” for the countries of the South, well, is a bit forced.

But these remarks by the Chinese minister echo a similar speech heard last month in Washington. “We need more African voices in international conversations,” U.S. leaders said at a US-Africa Summit hosted by President Joe Biden. The name of China was barely mentioned at the summit, but was obviously on everyone's mind.

Photo of China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang next a Chinese flag and a stuffed panda

China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang

Wikimedia Commons

Europe or China?

In this “great game” for future influence in Africa, Europe has the handicap of its past and its current shortcomings, but is also guilty of having turned away from the continent in recent decades. France, in particular, has to face a hostile climate among some of the youth in French-speaking countries, as France's Secretary of State for Development, Chrysalys Zacharopoulou, realized this week on a visit to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Europe has neither the flexibility nor the means of Beijing.

Last year, under the French presidency, a European Union-Africa Summit took place in Brussels, just days before the invasion of Ukraine. EU members launched a “Global Gateway” fund, to compete with the Chinese Silk Roads, but the bloc has neither the flexibility nor the means of Beijing.

This suitors' ball in Africa should push Europe to reinvent its relationship with this continent — remembering it can claim to be the closest geographically, and historically. But for Africa to actually consider France, and Europe, a natural ally for the future, will require a lot of work. It is both necessary, and urgent.


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Geopolitics

China Is Recruiting Former NATO Pilots — Is That OK?

A Parliamentary committee that oversees German intelligence services is questioning Beijing increasing recruitment activities of those who know Western weaponry best. This raises a fundamental strategic question as China-West tensions grow .

German air forces conducting exercises.

A Tornado fighter pilot of the air force squadron 33 from Büchel rolls after the landing on the air base of the tactical air force.

© Rainer Jensen via Zuma Press
Lennart Pfahler, Tim Röhn

BERLIN — The German Bundestag’s Parliamentary Supervisory Committee meets in private. It is rare for any details of the discussions between delegates, who oversee the activities of the German intelligence services, to leak to the outside world.

But in the past week, the Committee very deliberately broke its usual vow of silence. In a public statement, delegates called for stricter regulations for government employees whose jobs relate to matters of security, when they make the move to the private sector.

Above all, the committee said that engaging in work for a foreign power should “automatically qualify as a breach of the obligation to secrecy for civil servants with jobs related to matters of security."

One reason for the unusual announcement: growing concerns about Chinese efforts to recruit former German military and intelligence officers.

In security circles, the word is that the Beijing regime is showing a marked interest in operational and tactical information from the West. Beijing is looking to recruit NATO pilots, with the aim of honing fighting techniques against Western military planes and helicopters. This recruitment often happens via foreign flying schools.

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